CURRENTLY 2015!

It's a few hours early here in Arizona,

but I am getting a head start on the New Year 

by linking up with Farley from

for the first CURRENTLY for 2015!

Listening

The house is finally quiet!  My daughter has been on a Castle marathon since Christmas.  She LOVES that show and got all the previous 6 seasons for Christmas.  She's been watching ever since!

Loving

I love that I do not have to get up and go into work every morning!  Although I am still "working" on my TPT and blog and volunteering for CASA and the Foster Care Review Board, my days are much more relaxed, and I don't have to dread the end of my vacation time and going back to work.

Thinking

I have ideas for so many projects that I am having trouble going to sleep at night because my brain won't shut off!

Wanting

It's a COLD (at least by Phoenix standards) and rainy day today, and I would love to curl up with a good book and a hot toddy, but there's just too much to do...

Needing

I love having all the Christmas decorations up and looking at the tree (minus the presents of course,)

but it's time for it all to come down and be put away until next year.

YES to making myself go to the gym regularly.  

I NEED to!  I HAVE to!

But really, I think exercise is just plain BORING.

But I will get back to it, starting tomorrow,

...or maybe the day after that.

MAYBE (Hopefully) making more money on TPT.

Now that I am working on TPT more or less full-time, 

bring on those CHA-CHINGS!

I WISH we could move to San Antonio right NOW!

We still have to wait a few years,

but I want to go

NOW!

Your turn!  Here's the form.

Head on over and link up for yourself and see what everyone else is up to on this New Year's Eve.

Please be safe tonight!

It's a Merry Christmas Sale!

Have you entered to win a $10 TPT Gift Certificate yet?

Click on Santa to enter.

You only have until midnight tonight!

As I take the next few days off to celebrate with my family, 

I wanted to leave you with my 

Warmest Holiday Wishes 

and a SALE!

It's a great time to stock up on those holiday favorites that you may have missed,

 and you will have them for next year all ready to go.

OR

Grab some fun products to start the new year.

Here's a Freebie to start off the new year!

And here's another way to get even more Free Goodies!

Read the details here.

"Dear Santa ..." A Teacher Nerd Libs Linky

It's Sunday and I'm going to get a little nerdy with my pals Mel & Gerdy.

 I just stumbled upon this fun linky, and can't wait to read all the other entries!

Want to participate, too?

Here are the blanks to be filled in for this week's Nerd Libs.   Again, NO PEEKING until you've done this part.   Then, have fun filling in the story below with your responses in the following order: ADJECTIVE:                                       _____________________ STORE NAME:                                   _____________________ WRITTEN TYPE OF COMMUNICATION:                   _____________________ ADVERB:                                             _____________________ ASSIGNMENT:                                   _____________________ VERB:                                                   _____________________ OFFICE ACCESSORY:                      _____________________ OFFICE FURNITURE:                       _____________________ SOMETHING THAT EVERY TEACHER WANTS:             _____________________ SUPERELATIVE ADJECTIVE:        ____________________ ASSIGNMENT:                                   ____________________ ADJECTIVE:                                       _____________________ Alright, now that you've done the easy part, let's get to the FUN part.   Fill in your answers into the blank template at the bottom of this post and give yourself a little chuckle.  And while you're at it, check out my Nerd Lib below... Use this blank Nerd Lib image below to record your results!  Hop over to Mel & Gerdy's blog post to link up and share your story! I've been baking up a storm and am off to a Cookie Exchange with Callie from Teach-a-Roo! Maybe I'll even share my cookies with you! Have a great week!

All I Want for Christmas...

Are you in need of some last minute Christmas gifts for teacher friends, teammates, or your child's teacher?

Has your family been asking what YOU want for Christmas?

Teachers Pay Teacher Gift Certificates 

make the awesome gifts!

Being able to purchase AMAZING teaching resources saves you and them precious time.  

They make the PERFECT last minute gifts!

Wouldn't you rather spend the next few days relaxing and spending time with your family?

So I'm teaming up with Laura Candler and some of my teaching blogger buddies who are each giving away a $10 TPT gift certificate. You'll find all of their links at the bottom of this post. If you don't see many blogs linked up, check back tomorrow to find the others. You have to enter each contest separately, and each of us has a slightly different process for entering their giveaway. Be sure to read the directions on each blog before entering. I'm using the Rafflecopter located at the end of this post. You can earn up to 5 entries if you complete all the items listed, but it's fine to just complete one or two. 

TeachersPayTeachers recently gave their gift certificates a make-over, and now each certificate has it's own unique color. You can purchase a gift certificate for any amount between $10 and $200. 

Wow! Imagine what you could do with a $200 gift certificate! 

Head on over to the TpT Gift Certificate page to take a look. 

After you log in, you'll see the page below. 

How to Enter
To enter the contest, complete any or all of these entries before midnight EST on December 23rd. I hope you'll follow me on Pinterest and TeachersPayTeachers so that we can stay connected. Be sure to read the terms and conditions before you complete the entry form. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

An InLinkz Link-up

Wordless Wednesday

WARNING!

But on a positive note...

Head on over to Miss DeCarbo's blog to check out the other Wordless Wednesday posts.

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas!

Here's a bit of my Christmas Craftiness from the weekend...

Inspired by these pins from Pinterest,

here is MY version.

It's hard to see in the picture, but there are white Christmas lights in the buckets that light them up with twinkling lights.  Here's what they look like beside my front door.

They turned out so pretty!

Next up was this inspiration...

it became this...

A glass brick filled with white lights and red and clear glass marbles.

It's the perfect night light for the bathroom!

Here's the towel rack in my bathroom

(Christmas towels are not up yet.) 

And finally, Gingerbread ornaments for my students.  I make these every year to go along with our Gingerbread unit.

They are 2" terra cotta pots with wooden doll heads and glass marbles.

I love making these every year!

I am also linking up with Michelle at Fabulous in First for her Christmas Questionnaire! 

1. When do you decorate?  It's an ongoing project for me.  I would LOVE to have everything up the weekend after Thanksgiving, but that NEVER happens.  It all depends on when hubby gets the stuff down from the attic and we have time to get a tree.  I spent this past weekend getting most of it done.  Here's the tree...

2. Elf or no elf?  No Elf for me, but I do love checking in on the escapades of everyone else's.

3. Christmas Cookies or No Baking for You?  I do cookies for a cookie exchange, but that's about it.  My daughter is the baker in the family now.

4. Favorite Holiday Tradition?  I love driving around with my family looking at all the Christmas light displays.  In the classroom, it is our Polar Express Celebration.

5. Favorite Christmas Movie?  Prancer!  I love showing this movie to my students.  At home, I am a sucker for almost any cheesy Christmas movie.  I love to watch them with my daughter.

6. Snow or No Snow?  NO SNOW for this warm weather girl!   This is my idea of sledding!

...or a snow white beach!

7. Favorite Christmas Song?  I love 'em all!  Here is this year's favorite.  I just love Pentatonix!

8. Favorite Gifts to Give and Get?   I L♥VE to give presents!  I love finding little things that other people will enjoy.  At this point in my life, there is not much I want or need.  I just enjoy being with friends and family.  I love the gifts that students have made for me over the years and the jewels and stuffed animal that have come from their own collections because they wanted to give something special.

Head on over to Michelle's blog and check out the other responses too!

I will leave you with these 2 new writing activities that I finished up yesterday, too.

The Sunday Scoop and Operation E.L.F.

Happy Sunday Friends!

With a death in my family this morning, it has been a rough day, but I wanted to end it on a happy note by connecting with all of you, my online family.

First of all,

tell the people you love,

"I Love You!"

EVERY. CHANCE. YOU. GET.

You never know when it may be your last chance.

SHARE. YOUR. LOVE. ABUNDANTLY.

I'm linking up with my friends at Teaching Trio

for

Because of  the death of my aunt this morning, I rushed out of the house just after we had finished buying our Christmas tree.  Hubby got down all of the Christmas stuff out of the attic while I was up north and got the tree set up.  Now all I have to do is DECORATE!

I have my Christmas cards and the stamps, just have to get them DONE!

I have ideas for 3 new Christmas/Winter products swimming around in my head.

Hope to have time to work on those this week.

Because of family issues I did not get last month's newsletter done and am running late on this month's, but I WILL get it done!

I love my kids more than life itself and they are growing up WAY too fast!  I want to spend as much time with them as I can.

If you have not been participating in Creative Clips' Operation E.L.F.,

you are missing out!

Hey, EVERYONE. LOVES.FREEBIES!

In honor of Operation E.L.F I have created this fun freebie for you!

Students write a letter to Santa telling him why they want to be one of his elves.

Then the get to "ELF Themself!"

This is a fun activity for these crazy weeks before Christmas when you just want to keep them busy (in a meaningful way, of course!)

To grab your copy, click here or on the image above.

Are you looking for a charitable organization to donate to?

How about a dollar-for-dollar tax credit?

I have recently gotten involved with and become a CASA Volunteer.

and

VOICES FOR CASA CHILDREN IS DEDICATED TO BRINGING A VOICE TO EVERY ABUSED AND NEGLECTED CHILD IN STATE CARE BY PROVIDING RESOURCES TO SUPPORT AND GROW THE CASA OF MARICOPA COUNTY PROGRAM.

Voices for CASA Children is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and a Qualified Foster Care Charitable Organization. 

Your donation is eligible for tax credit consideration - EIN 45-3359395. 

(Visit www.azdor.gov for further information)

You can make a dollar-for-dollar tax credit donation of up to $800 for couples filing jointly.  

This is definitely a WIN-WIN-WIN deal!  

Voices wins when you donate.

YOU win at tax time.

And most importantly, kids who desperately need our help win.

Please consider making a donation today.